Increasing scam calls with spoofed caller ID occurring
WSU has been experiencing a significant increase in incoming scam telephone calls that use spoofed caller ID to make it look like the caller is in Wichita or even inside the university. If you receive any scam call, Telecommunications recommends that you:
- Ask the caller to put you on their “do not call” list. Scammers probably won't honor their legal obligation to do this, but it's worth asking.
- End the call as quickly as you can. We all want to be polite, but remember that the scammer's job is to trick you into giving them information that they can use to steal from you.
- Under no circumstances give the caller any information about WSU, your office, other departments or the names or numbers of other WSU faculty, staff or students. Scammers will use this information to try to scam other people at WSU and it's easier to do when they have a head start, opening the call with, “Jane Doe said I should give you a call about …”
Caller ID information is being spoofed by scam call centers whose telephone companies allow them to send fake caller ID numbers. Telecommunications is investigating technical ways to at least block calls falsely claiming to come from within the university.
Hiring process for non-benefit eligible employees (students, grads, lecturers, temps)
A new process for hiring paperwork was implemented in Summer 2018 for all non-benefit eligible employees. With this change, hiring departments are no longer responsible for facilitating the completion of the new hire paperwork packets. That part of the process is now centralized within Human Resources, and HR is responsible for delivering the paperwork packet to the new hire in an electronic format. Hiring departments are responsible for completing the Non-Benefit Eligible Hire Form, submitting the ePAF, coordinating the completion of the Spoken English Forms (lecturers and teaching grads), and requesting the WSU email for the new employee.
Several improvements to the process have been made, including changes to the hiring form, and enhanced instructions for the Non-Benefit Eligible Hiring Process which are available on the Human Resources> Forms webpage in the Student, Graduate Student, Lecturer, or Temporary Employee section. These changes create an improved experience for our candidates and creates a more efficient process for the campus community.
Open labs are scheduled from 9-11 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 27) in 122 Jabara Hall, and 3-5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in 119 Jabara Hall, to learn and ask questions about the process of hiring non-benefit eligible employees.
Please send any additional questions to employment@wichita.edu.
Save the date: Advising Fair
Plan on coming to the Advising Fair from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, in the Shirley Beggs Ballroom, third floor, Rhatigan Student Center.
All students, staff, and faculty welcome to browse the advising departments and student support services tables, grab a bite, get entered for prizes and learn about the broad array of services provided by the various advising and support departments across campus. For more information or to be a participant, contact patricia.phillips@wichita.edu.
WSU Weekly Briefing to feature collaboration between McConnell Air Force Base and GoCreate
Technical Sergeant Clayton Allen will talk about collaboration between McConnell Air Force Base and GoCreate in WSU's Weekly Briefing at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Marcus Welcome Center.
Tracee Friess, director of communications for research and technology transfer, will give the overall university update.
The briefing will be livestreamed and available later that day at WSU Weekly Briefing. There will be time for questions at the end of the briefing.
Blackboard quick tip: Managing discussion boards
Instructors who use discussions in Blackboard often want to close a topic for grading but leave the reading pane open so students can see the discussion at a later date. If you would like to allow students to see a discussion without having the ability to post to it by you, you can do that!
Simply navigate to the discussion forum and click the “down arrow” next to the title of the topic you would like to adjust. Choose “manage” and then select all the students in the list (reminder: if there are multiple pages, you should either “show all” first or repeat this process for each page) and click the button that says “edit role” and change their role to “reader.” That's it!
Students will now be able to read the discussion board, but not be able to post to it.
Have other questions about Blackboard? Come to the open Blackboard and Accessibility lab time in the C-space in Ablah Library anytime between 1-3 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday, and let an Instructional Design and Access expert help you, or send questions to IDA@wichita.edu.
If you conduct surveys, be sure to use the university's designated software Qualtrics
This is a reminder that for those who use surveys (faculty, staff and students), WSU has a site license for Qualtrics which became the official institutional survey tool for WSU use in 2012. Listed below are some of the benefits related to using Qualtrics for your survey needs. Please contact Charles Burdsal or Sandra Ranney at the Social Science Research Lab at 978-3384 if you have questions.
- Reduces overall cost as the university has a site license for Qualtrics so you do not have to pay a third-party vendor.
- Get help with your survey design, methodology and survey questions.
- Access to on campus survey experts to optimize your survey and response rate.
- Be certain that you are obtaining the best survey sample for your survey.
- Reducing survey fatigue as we can create reduced samples that more approximately target your survey population.
- Ensure that you get accurate email lists of students, staff and faculty for your survey.
- Help protect the emails of faculty, staff and students.
- Know that who answers your survey is who you want answering your survey.
- Provide analytics on your surveys and results.
- Help avoid having the university listed as a spammer by internet service providers.
Help eliminate the security risk of embedded links when sending out emails by having your survey listed on the WSU portal.
Are you 60-plus years of age? Do you want to improve your visual functions?
The Visual Perception & Cognition Lab is looking for participants for research studies that investigate the effects of a visual training program. The research study involves about five one-hour testing or training sessions that will be conducted on the WSU main campus or WSU Shocker Studios on East Harry Street. Participants will be compensated with $110 for completing the study.
Contact Jake at jdellis1@shockers.wichita.edu or 316-285-9575 to learn more about what is involved in this exciting research study!
Scholarships available for WSU travel seminars for May 2019
WSU travel seminars for May 2019: 10 to 15 scholarships up to $2,000 each are available, based on financial need. Students must have FAFSA 2018-19 filed through WSU Financial Aid Office and preference will be given to Pell grant recipients.
Complete the general WSU study abroad scholarship application process that includes application form, two reference forms with letters and personal statement. More information is available at travel seminar scholarships.
Questions? Contact Ann Burger at ann.burger@wichita.edu or call 978-5374.
Office of Financial Aid to host several FAFSA events
The 2019-20 FAFSA becomes available on Monday, Oct. 1. WSU's priority date for consideration for certain types of aid is Saturday, Dec. 1. That means you only have two months to complete your FAFSA online and submit any additional documentation to our office.
Make sure to finish your FAFSA early to maximize your awards.
To help you, the Office of Financial Aid will host several FAFSA events:
- Shocker Hall FAFSA Completion Celebration from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, in the Shocker Hall Multi-Purpose Room
- FAFSA Finish Line event for TRIO, GEAR UP and Community Partners on Saturday, Oct. 6
- Get on the Bus (Shuttle) Campaign – October-November 2018
- FAFSA Fun with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI) from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the ODI Conference Room.
Additionally, you are always welcome to schedule an appointment with our office in 203 Jardine Hall for completion assistance and answers to all of your FAFSA-related questions.
Today's Open Enrollment events
This week, only KDHE webinars will be available. In-person presentations begin next week. For a full schedule of Wichita State HR Open Enrollment events, go to Open Enrollment. While the webinars are available this week, members will not be able to make their online elections until Monday, Oct. 1.
All webinars require registration and download of the GoToWebinar launcher, instructions for which will be sent via email after registering. These are streaming presentations, and must be viewed live at the scheduled time for access. Registration for all upcoming dates can be found at Informational Webinars.
Today (Wednesday, Sept. 26), webinars are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Chemistry Colloquium today (Wednesday, Sept. 26)
Randy Morgenstein, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, will present “The cytoskeleton and cell shape: how small proteins control large-scale phenomena,” at 3:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, Sept. 26) in 224 McKinley Hall.
RSC Unplugged: Made from Scratch
Stop by the Rhatigan Student Center every Wednesday for the live music series, RSC Unplugged. Made From Scratch will perform from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. today (Wednesday, Sept. 26) in the RSC's Starbucks Lounge. Grab a cup of coffee and relax with some great music!
Learn more about IEEE
Craig Griffith with IEEE invites students and faculty to learn more about IEEE on Friday, Sept. 28, in 264 Experiential Engineering Building. All students are invited to the presentation on resources for IEEE student members from 12:30-1:30 p.m., where pizza, cookies and drinks will be served. From 1:30-3 p.m. there will be an IEEE and University Libraries resource table. Faculty and staff are invited to attend the IEEE Xplore Update from 3-4 p.m.
For more information about the details of these presentations, visit the new Resource of the Month library research guide.
Grad Studies to present ‘Teaching and Material Development in Blackboard'
“Teaching and Material Development in Blackboard” will be presented by Carolyn Speer, manager, Instructional Design and Access, from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in 266 RSC.
This session will provide an overview of Blackboard's functionalities and provide some tips and tricks for GTAs and instructors who would like to add a Blackboard component to face-to-face classes or to improve online classes. There will be time to ask specific questions at the end of the presentation.
This event will be part of a series of events with a pedagogical focus that students are eligible to take throughout the year to earn an alternative credential (noncredit badge).
‘Making PowerPoint More Engaging' workshop on Oct. 4
University Libraries is holding the workshop "Making PowerPoint More Engaging” from 2-3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4 in 217 Ablah Library.
Learn how to present information with charts, tables, smart art and infographics to engage your audience. Discover new ways to spice up your PowerPoint presentation with fun designs, sounds, transitions and animations.
This is a hands-on workshop, so you are welcome to bring a PowerPoint presentation that you are currently working on. This is one in a series of Digital Literacy workshops this semester, and is open to all WSU students, faculty and staff.
For more information about this workshop and others in the series, visit digital workshops. Seats are limited, so sign up today! RSVP.
Save $5 for trip to watch Sporting KC and eat at Zaxby's
Cheer on the boys in blue as Sporting KC hosts the Los Angeles Football Club on Sunday, Oct. 28, at Children's Mercy Park, in Kansas City, Kansas. After the game we'll grab dinner at Zaxby's at Legends, known for their chicken! We'll leave at noon and return around 10 p.m.
The cost is $60, and includes transportation, ticket to the game and dinner at Zaxby's. Use the code HUMPDAY to save $5. Register by Thursday, Sept. 27 at Sporting KC.
Justice & Redemption – A Student Collaborative in Cadman Art Gallery – Main Space
“Justice & Redemption” is an art exhibition presented by various student artists. The exhibits are on display in the Cadman Art Gallery now through Friday, Sept. 28.
This art exhibits symbolize stories of justice and redemption to coincide with this year's common read “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson. Join the artists for their opening reception at the Cadman beginning at 11a.m. today (Wednesday, Sept. 26).
The Cadman Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the Rhatigan Student Center. For more information about this exhibit and others, go to Cadman Art Gallery Wichita.edu/CadmanGallery.
Shocker Cheer helps with WEPAC Alliance
Members of the Shocker Sprit Squad traveled west on Saturday, Sept. 22 to help with
the WEPAC alliance in Ashland, Kan.
The WEPAC Alliance promotes women's health and cancer awareness and provides resources
for preventive cancer screenings. The event began as a simple fundraiser for breast
cancer awareness and early detection and eventually grew into the Hoops for Hope weekend
that has gained the attention of regional and national media. During the time the
Shocker Cheerleaders are there, they help host a K-6 cheer clinic, cheer a celebrity
women's basketball game and visit with members of the community.
This is the ninth time the cheer team has participated in this multi-community event
and the 10th year WEPAC has been held.